My predecessor at Barefoot left a pile of book proposals on my desk and today I picked up a small stack of them during a slower moment in the day and began to skim them.
At first glance at, two things surprised me about the proposals. First, the proposals were eerily similar in their content. All of them (probably 6 or so) were about helping students more fully understand the story of God. Of course each of the proposals were different in their approach to help students in that way, but they were all far too analogous. Second, each hopeful author listed as the top reason as the primary need for his or her product on the market as this; students don't know the stories of the Bible.
Is this true in your ministry context - are students ignorant when it comes to the stories in the Bible? Are we in need of more curriculum, etc. that helps students more fully understand the story of God? What is the cause of this reality (actual of perceived)?
Over the last few years I've deeply engaged in a learning model most commonly referred to as applied or experiential learning. The applied learning model (think: David Kolb) has been around quite a while and it has taken on a variety of different forms. Probably one of the most simplistic ways to describe applied learning is "hands-on" or "practicable" learning. Of course, applied learning is about so much more than just hands-on experiences but at its core it is about creating moments for students to link theory and practice or thinking and doing.
I mention applied learning because I think that so much of the reason behind a statement like, '...students don't know the stories of the Bible" has less to do about the students and more to do with the way youth workers attempt to educate them. Perhaps it is better said, "Youth workers are not helping students to learn the stories of the Bible."
In what ways are you helping students to know the stories of the Bible? Is it the way you are choosing to educate or are the students in your ministry just not getting it? Or are you content with how the students in your ministry are leaning into and living out the story of God?
Among other characteristics, applied learning is about:
• Ongoing assessment of the subject matter and the environment in which the matter is passed on
• Beginning with the learners in mind, rather than the educators
• Facilitating opportunities for guided reflection that leads to the ongoing ability to link ideas with practices
• Facilitating dialogical opportunities that lead to shared or communal learning
• A holistic approach that integrates the subject matter with the daily life of students
• Embracing of a variety of methods that encourage and value different types of learning styles
I'm really curious to know... Do you value applied learning? Are you implementing applied learning methods in your youth ministry? If so, which methods and if not, why not? Do you think that there is any connection between students not knowing the stories of the Bible and the way we educate them? Or is it as simple as just not teaching them the most helpful subject matter?
I mention applied learning because I think that so much of the reason behind a statement like, '...students don't know the stories of the Bible" has less to do about the students and more to do with the way youth workers attempt to educate them. Perhaps it is better said, "Youth workers are not helping students to learn the stories of the Bible."
In what ways are you helping students to know the stories of the Bible? Is it the way you are choosing to educate or are the students in your ministry just not getting it? Or are you content with how the students in your ministry are leaning into and living out the story of God?
Among other characteristics, applied learning is about:
• Ongoing assessment of the subject matter and the environment in which the matter is passed on
• Beginning with the learners in mind, rather than the educators
• Facilitating opportunities for guided reflection that leads to the ongoing ability to link ideas with practices
• Facilitating dialogical opportunities that lead to shared or communal learning
• A holistic approach that integrates the subject matter with the daily life of students
• Embracing of a variety of methods that encourage and value different types of learning styles
I'm really curious to know... Do you value applied learning? Are you implementing applied learning methods in your youth ministry? If so, which methods and if not, why not? Do you think that there is any connection between students not knowing the stories of the Bible and the way we educate them? Or is it as simple as just not teaching them the most helpful subject matter?
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I would add a fourth to your list as well Scot,
4. The absence of Bible reading as a part of the regular worship service - except for the few piecemeal verses subjected to exposition or chosen to explore the topic.
Although I don't make many comments anymore on this blog, I still find this as my favorite blog (although there are many good blogs out there, and I hate to compare them).
And reading here only confirms my appreciation for this blog. In fact I was just telling Deb very recently that I need to read each post here and follow the threads as much as I can. Sometimes quite difficult because of my lack of access to computers during my days, as well as just being tired out after my work.
Blessings on this blog!
A simple thing we do in our children's ministry is give every child a Picture Bible (comic book bible) on his or her birthday. The parents report that kids kids tend to read them right through.
Reading the Hebrew Bible in English does not cut it. Chap 1 of Genesis: God created man. Chap 2: God made man. Creation is something from nothing, like a mathematical creation. Made is something from something. This is lost in the English. If we teach, we must understand the basic principles. See "Teaching and Helping Students Think and Do Better" on amazon.
As a millennial that grew up in evangelical churches (Presbyterian, Bible churches, baptist... a variety), I grew up surrounded by kids that knew the STORY of the Bible inside and out. We were taught it in the movies we watched, kid's books, Adventures in Odyssey, Sunday school, etc. Our accumulated knowledge didn't necessarily result in a mature faith, but we were well educated in the facts of the text (though not in church history).
That is not my experience with the Jr. high girls that I work with now. A few of them clearly have parents that have worked with them and taught them about the Bible, but the rest of them only have a vague understanding of the text and story of the Bible. The shocking thing is that these girls have grown up going to a "good" evangelical school.
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